A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi
by The Masked Wanderer
Summary: a sequel to "A Day in the Life of Ventus and Yugi". Yugi and Ven are living peacefully in Twilight Town, until a tragedy hits in their hometown. Now Ven is missing, and Yugi must find the hero inside himself to save Ven and the world. CHAPTER 4 ADDED!
1. Prologue

A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Yu-Gi-Oh! They are both owned by Square, Disney and Konami respectfully. I also do not own any other various franchises that I will(or may) use in this fanfiction. This story is mainly for entertainment purposes, and not a plot to make money or earn fame. Trust me…(I'm only kidding). Anyway, on with the story. Sorry for any inconvenience._

Prologue:

It was dark and cold. The air was stale and ancient: if someone was to take it in, they would feel as though they were in a messy, unappealing museum. There was no green grass, no blue sky, and certainly no living things for miles. All that one could make out was just mountains, brown dirty rocks and cracks in the ground. The only objects that could be seen in this barren wasteland were key-shaped weapons stuck in the ground, shaped together like a crossroad.

And in the middle of this crossroad, there stood a man. He was very old and brittle, like he might collapse any day. However, despite his fragile appearance, he was in fact very strong and agile. Even though he had a hunchback, his amber eyes seemed to be full of pure life and ice, like he had never been cheerful for hundreds of years.

This man's name was Xehanort, and he was a Master of the Keyblade, the name of the very weapons that surrounded him. Right now, he was making plans in his mind, deep in this forgotten and barren Keyblade Graveyard, where nobody, not even the strongest warriors in the worlds, could find him.

That, and he was also on his cell phone, ordering pizza for later, when he returned to Hollow Bastion.

"No, no, no! I said I wanted olives! OLIVES!...Wait, what? You thought I said _ostrich? _Are you deaf? I'm old enough to be your great-grandfather, and even _I _hear better than you...No, you ignorant fool! I don't want refills! I'M IN A FUCKING GRAVEYARD! Why would I need refills?"

"Do you ever pipe down?"

Master Xehanort grimaced upon hearing the young voice. Turning around, he glared at the young man. Upon seeing his face, he smirked.

The stranger waved at him. "How's it shaking, you old coot?"

Ignoring the young man's insult, Xehanort turned his attention back to the phone. "Young man, could you hold on for a moment. I have something to take care of…"

Putting his cell phone in his pocket, he fully turned to face the stranger. "It's about time you showed up. I ordered pizza for later, if you so-"

"Cut the crap, Xehanort." The man interrupted. "You never were one to cut to the chase, were you?"

Master Xehanort chuckled. "And I suppose you are?" Smirking, he put a hand to his face and started tapping his forehead. "All right then. I guess I submit, my little friend."

The stranger nodded. "Good." Then he reached into his pocket. "I got a picture of him, if you want."

Without waiting for the Keyblade Master's response, he took out the picture and showed it to him.

Xehanort examined the picture for a while, his smile turning into a concerned frown. "Interesting…" After motioning for the man to put the picture back, he turned away from the man. "This is beyond anything I imagined." Xehanort started flexing his fingers, as though he wanted to grab something. "Never in my life did I imagine that-"

"You know, they say that when you get old, the manners are the first things to go." The stranger scoffed. "Why don't you face me when you talk, you coward?"

Xehanort glanced back at the younger man. "If I were you, I would focus less about my manners and more about my fist, which will be in your stomach piercing away at your insides, if you don't behave yourself."

The young man gulped. He knew how strong he was, and how much people admired him. He was the best; a highly gifted, highly arrogant and highly cocky fighter. But even _he _did not cross arms with Xehanort, a man who possessed one of the greatest, and _terrifying_, powers in the world: the Keyblade.

He backed off. "All right. I know when to call it quits." Composing himself, he took a big gulp and swallowed the fear building up in his mouth. "So, I'll see you in Hollow Bastion at around 4:30?"

"But of course."

"Don't forget…" The stranger started to walk away. Before he left, he turned his head back. "I'm allergic to olives."

And he disappeared, into the stale, ancient air.

Xehanort waited a few minutes until he could no longer sense the man's presence in this world. Then he scrambled for his cell phone. "Sorry for the delay. Hold the olives…"

The sun started to set.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S TOO LATE TO TAKE OUT THE OLIVES? I AM MASTER XEHANORT! I SHALL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF!"

With that, the elderly Keyblade Master shot a bolt of lightning into the phone. Xehanort started laughing when he heard the pizza boy scream in terror, as if his skin was being burned off his face...


	2. Chapter One

A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Yu-Gi-Oh! Both are owned by their respective owners, and I do not plan on profiting off either of them._

Chapter 1:

It was 5:00 in the morning. Yugi Muto was sleeping soundly in his bed, tossing and turning a bit. In about thirty minutes, he would have to be out the door in order to get his daily cup of coffee at the local café. Then he would have to pick up some newspapers along the way in order to scope out the competition. Finally, he would need to drop Ventus off at school; summer vacation was over, and he needed to figure out how to work Aqua overtime to cover Ven's usual hours without getting slapped in the face. Now all he needed to do was slowly get up and-

"Yugi! Help me!"

The thirty-year-old man sighed. "And here we go." he mumbled.

Without putting on his shirt, he scrambled for his comb, put on his pants, and rushed out of his bedroom. His day had begun again.

* * *

Ventus was shaking uncontrollably; he was sitting on the bathroom floor, cringing in the corner. When Yugi finally arrived, he was greeted by a toothbrush thrown to his face.

Yugi's face turned red and his usual scowl appeared. "VENTUS! What the hell was that for?"

"It's about TIME you showed up!" Ven snapped. "What kept you?"

"Hmm…let me think about that…Maybe it was because I was SLEEPING, you nimrod!" Yugi put a hand to his face. "Ugh…" Giving up, he asked, "What happened?"

"Look in the toilet!" Ven pointed a finger in the toilet bowl, his eyes wide with fear.

Shaking his head, Yugi walked over to the toilet and looked inside. "I don't know what you're so worked up about. It's just a piece of – OH, MY GOD!"

Yugi nearly fell over upon seeing what was in the bowl. What was in the bowl, you ask? Nothing really; it was just a giant street rat eating chocolate mousse.

Yugi's mouth dropped open, and sweat started pouring out the back of his head. Slowly turning his head to the young boy, Ven shrugged. "I told you so."

Remembering what he had learned in yoga class, Yugi took a deep breath and cleared his mind. Then he calmly asked, "Ven, I'm going to regret asking this, but WHY is there a rat in our toilet, eating chocolate mousse?"

Ven gulped. "That's what I was trying to tell you. I saw our pet rat was pretty dirty. So I put him in the toilet to get clean, because I know how you feel about letting him in the shower. Also, he was kinda hungry, so I gave him the chocolate mousse from the fridge."

"How many times do I have to tell you; we do NOT have a pet rat, and I will NEVER get you one, no matter how much you beg and plead." Yugi sighed deeply and shook his head in disgust. "It's bad enough that we have Jimmy running around, but a RAT? That's unacceptable."

Jimmy was Ven's pet gerbil, which Yugi had won in a duel against a pet owner, after Ven had begged and pleaded for him to get it.

"Humph." Ven pouted. "You're mean." He stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Brushing off the toothpaste on his face, Yugi left the bathroom and watched the fuming Ventus walk downstairs. He couldn't help but feel a bit sad about what he had said, right that it had been.

He sighed. "Ventus…"

* * *

It was around five-fifty now. Yugi was riding his black motorcycle with Ventus in the sidecar. The young Keyblade Master had his arms crossed and wasn't looking at the older man at all.

Yugi hadn't meant to snap at Ventus. He just got a little fed up with Ven's antics is all; Yugi cared for his friend a lot. He was very worried that the boy might do something that could get him in trouble someday, and he couldn't let that happen.

In his mind, Yugi decided to make it up to Ven; in the evening, they would go out and get _two _bars of ice-cream and sit on the clock tower. That will cheer him up, Yugi thought. Ice cream always cheers him up.

After he dropped Ven off at school, he waved him goodbye. "See you after school!"

Ven waved back half-heartedly. He just replied with a simple "Yeah" and walked off with Hayner and Pence, who had been waiting on the stairs for him.

After watching him for a while, Yugi took off for work, hopeful for today's haul.

Yugi was the head of a newspaper publishing business, the Keyblade Chronicles, which focused on providing the citizens of Twilight Town with pure, unbiased reporting on the stories that 'people wanted to hear'. Critics called the Keyblade Chronicles, or KC, 'the last non-junky news source since public radio.' Despite this praise and worthy fan following, however, they were only publishing about twenty-thousand papers a month; they faced heavy competition from _The Setzer Weekly. _It was owned by his rival Setzer and his lackeys Seifer, Fuu, Vivi and some random weird guy who says 'Y'Know' a lot. Yugi didn't remember his name, and neither did anyone else, he guessed. Not like it mattered.

On the other hand, his business consisted of his closest friends. There was Riku, who worked as the field reporter of the group. He wasn't around much as a result; however, he was really good at finding stories and keeping the Chronicles alive. And then there was Terra, the self-proclaimed 'face' of the KC. Whenever there was a scoop, Terra's picture was all that was needed for readers to catch it. His masculine charm was just as helpful as it was sickening (At least to Yugi, it was!). And finally, there was the beautiful and charming Aqua. She was perhaps the most important member of all. Even though she only did the 'Letters to the Editor' and 'Public Opinions' sections, it was her unique writing style that kept their readers faithful. Aqua was a very kind-hearted person who seemed to connect to people, something Yugi valued the most in her.

Ventus was just a part-time secretary, who took in calls of breaking news or any official business Yugi had to deal with. Whenever he had school, Yugi or Aqua (but mostly Aqua) took over those menial tasks. Being the leader and founder, Yugi had to manage each section and make sure each section was proofread and checked. He also scheduled interviews with celebrities and other famous people in the worlds and wrote the stories himself for his own exclusive 'This Magical Life' section.

The reason his newspaper was called the 'Keyblade Chronicles' was simple; every single member wielded the magical Keyblade. Riku, Terra, Aqua, Ventus and even Yugi all wielded the Keyblade, whose magical powers allowed them capable of feats normal newspapers were incapable of doing.

Yugi smiled upon thinking about the business he had created, with a combination of hard work, determination, and a little bit of magic. However, even as he thought this, his mind failed to neglect the wretch who kept trying to take it away from him.

"Setzer…" Yugi grimaced upon saying his name. The egomanic Setzer was Yugi's rival, in more ways than one. Not only was he the leader of the newpaper _The Setzer Weekly, _but he was also the current Struggle champion. At one point, Yugi had been a Struggle fighter who lived a rough life, until the day he challenged Setzer for his championship title. It had been a long battle, but the battle was finally won by-

"Ah!" Yugi grabbed his head in frustration. His memory of that incident was too painful to remember; every time he tried, it always caused him mental pain.

Yugi looked at his watch. "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!" It was 5:59! The store opened at 6:00! Yugi narrowed his eyes. "It's time to kick this baby into overdrive!"

He summoned his Keyblade, Fenrir. Yugi focused his energy and thought of his workplace. Then he opened a secret compartment in his handlebars, which contained a Keyhole. Then, he inserted the Keyblade into the Keyhole, and with all the energy in his body, Yugi turned the Keyblade.

At once, the bike emitted a yellow glow, and both it and Yugi were transported in a flash of light…

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter Two

A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Kingdom Hearts._

Chapter Two:

It was almost 6:00. Aqua was dusting the counter top for Yugi. Terra was in the bathroom, washing his face to freshen up. Riku had already left into town to get a head start on Seifer's gang. And yet Yugi, the leader of their little group, was missing in action.

"Great…" Aqua breathed a sigh of disappointment. "What is wrong with him? I'm not his servant, you know. I have needs too."

"Talking to yourself again, Aqua?" Terra had just gotten out of the bathroom, wearing a towel over his neck. Wiping his face with it, he kept talking. "Don't be so worried. Yugi must have had some problems with Ventus again."

"Yeah." Aqua half-heartedly mumbled. She slumped over the counter, very tired to keep standing. She had to get up at 4:30 today, because she knew Yugi would be late. Sometimes, she really hated Yugi.

As though he had read her mind, Terra laughed. Aqua glared at him, though it wasn't as powerful as usual. "What 's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that if Yugi can't handle Ventus, maybe _you _should adopt him!"

Aqua blushed bright pink. "Shut up, Terra!" She took Terra's towel away and slapped him with it, though the latter dodged. "You're just embarrassed!" Terra stuck out his tongue.

Just as Aqua was about to retort, there was a blinding yellow light from outside the shop. Both of the young adults looked out the window when the light subsided. Sure enough, there was Yugi, sitting on his bike, with Fenrir stuck in the handlebars.

After getting out of the bike, Yugi took the Keyblade out, and almost instantly, the bike disappeared in a flash of light. When that happened, Yugi smiled. Then he threw his Keyblade, which disappeared as well. After he walked into the shop, he was greeted by another of Aqua's rants.

"Do you have ANY concept of time?" Aqua pointed at her watch. "What do you do when you're at home anyway?"

Yugi smiled. "Sorry. I had some problems with Ventus. Won't happen again." And he just walked past Aqua, sitting at the counter top.

Before Aqua could say something along the lines of "You always say that", she noticed how happy Yugi seemed. It was pretty uncharacteristic of him. "You okay, Yugi?" Aqua raised an eyebrow.

Yugi shook his head. "Forget it; I'm fine." Getting down to business, he took out his files from the file cabinet under the counter top and placed them on the desk. Then, he pulled out a small spiral notebook from his pocket and a pen. "What's the scoop today?"

Shaking off any thoughts of Ven from her mind, Aqua updated him on the news. "Cinderella is having twins in the Castle of Dreams, but people suspect that the father may _not _be her husband, due to her only having met him once at a party."

Yugi jotted it down. "Okay, okay. So I'll schedule an interview with the prince and get his feedback on the news. What else?"

"There was a train accident here in Twilight Town. A kid who was the son of a friend of the mayor was critically injured by a local train after playing on the tracks."

"Tsk tsk." Yugi shook his head. "Tragic. Make sure you call Riku later and ask him if he can get an interview with the mayor or anyone else connected with the accident. If he can't, tell him to at least take some pictures of the accident site. Also, see if you can pull out some photos of the mayor and the kid; they may be useful for the final cut."

Aqua nodded. "Roger, chief." Then she winked. "Also, as your secretary, I feel obligated to let you know that you have a special interview today at 3:00, with _Mulan_, no less!"

Yugi looked up from his notes. "Who's that?"

"Some girl who saved China from the Huns, the toughest warriors in the world. Men want her, and women want to be her. At least that's what I've been told."

Yugi shook his head. "Too bad she's never fought a couple Heartless like we have!" He sank back in his chair. "Besides, I have to pick up Ventus at 3:00; I can't even go to the interview today."

Aqua smiled. She loved how much Yugi cared for Ven; the fact that he went out of his way to help somebody who wasn't related to him was very heartwarming to her. Snapping back into reality, she spoke again. "Listen; I can pick Ventus up today. You go for the interview; it'll be a good scoop, I guarantee! You can even use it for this month's 'This Magical Life'!" In reality, she just wanted to spend more time with Ven. He was cute, she thought. As it was, she never spent time with him as it was.

"Nah. I can take care of Ventus. Tell Mulan's secretary we can schedule the interview for another time. Ven's my responsibility. Don't worry about it."

Yugi updated his notes, not noticing the sadness in Aqua's eyes. She looked down at the ground, hurt by Yugi's insensitivity, though he didn't know. Aqua shook back into reality and sat at her desk. "By the way, what are you doing today?"

Yugi shrugged. "I'm probably going to make some calls to Yen Sid. I'm doing a special segment on the Heartless, and he some important general information that even _we _don't know about, which might be important to the general public."

Aqua stared at Yugi intently. "Really? That's interesting. You should get that done."

Despite living in a peaceful era, the Heartless still persisted. The KC was always on the alert; if the Heartless were on the move, they needed to be the first ones to know about it.

Yugi nodded in agreement. "Of course." Then he turned to Terra, who was sitting at his desk. "Terra, what's new in sports?"

"The Twilight Thorns beat the Agrabah Ants 94-23 in basketball last Friday." Terra replied. "In surfing, some Tidus kid beat world famous surfer John Wade in a local completion. People want to know if he is going to retire."

"Perfect! This'll be perfect for the paper! Can you get Riku to get it done?"

"Mm-hmm! I'll let him know later!"

Yugi turned back to his notes. "Good so far. What else are we missing?"

"Well there is the title story. We still need a title story for this month." Aqua pointed out. "So far, we don't have anything good for it to be on the front page."

"Well, until we get something better, we'll put the story with the mayor's friend's kid as the title. We got four weeks until the paper comes out. We're on a roll so far; we keep this up, Setzer won't know what hit him!"

Yugi rubbed his hands together in glee. "Let's get started!"

* * *

**Later...**

It was around 3:00. It was around time for Yugi to pick up Ventus up from school. Just as he was about to walk outside to his bike…

…he was greeted by an armored hand slapping his back.

"OWWW!" Yugi grabbed his back and winced in pain. He turned around to see Ventus in his armor suit, holding his Keyblade Fresh Breeze.

"VENTUS!" Yugi's face bore a scowl, and it turned red again. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Ven took off his helmet. "I'm sorry…" He looked down at the ground; he still remembered how mad Yugi had been at him earlier.

Then Yugi's scowl magically disappeared, and his face returned to normal. "Ah, just kidding! Good to see you here!"

He then proceeded to give Ventus a hug. He was happy to see his friend again after so long. No matter how much Ven annoyed him, Yugi loved Ventus so much, like a little brother he never had. Ven smiled brightly and returned the hug, careful not to crush Yugi with his armor.

Terra and Aqua smiled upon seeing their two friends reunited. "I think their friendship is cute, don't you think?" Terra asked Aqua. Aqua only nodded.

But in reality, she couldn't help feel a bit jealous of Yugi. Why couldn't Ven love her the way he loved Yugi? How come he never hugged Aqua like he did Yugi?

Aqua brushed these thoughts aside. _No, _she thought. _Now's not the time to feel jealous. I should be happy for their friendship. They're my friends too, after all._

After they finished hugging, Yugi put a hand on Ven's shoulder. "What are you doing here? I was going to pick you up."

Ven put his arms behind his head and laughed. "I didn't want you to waste time getting me, so I took my Keyblade Ride home today. Now you can get interviews done without worrying for me!"

This caused Yugi to cry. Terra, Aqua and Ven all looked at Yugi in confusion. "I'm so proud of you, Ventus." Yugi sniffed. "You're finally starting to be responsible."

Ven shrugged. "I learned it from you, Yug."

Brushing his tears of joy away, Yugi remembered something else. "But don't you have any homework to get done?"

"Ah, I can do that anytime. I just wanted to be with you guys again. Plus, Aqua doesn't have to stress her pretty head over being secretary AND wrting stories!"

Yugi laughed. He always liked how Ventus cared about other above himself. It was one of the qualities he liked the most in him.

Aqua giggled. "You're such a sweetie, Ven. You just earned yourself a little present."

Catching Ven unaware, she blew a kiss at his direction. Ven blushed a bright red. "Ah, Aqua, you're embarrassing me."

"Get a room, you two!" Yugi had a smug look on his face. Nudging Ven, he added, "If you two keep this up, this building will be full by suppertime!"

Both he and Terra laughed hard, while Aqua and Ven blushed, realizing what Yugi had implied.

"I'll make sure you're DEAD before suppertime!" Aqua started fuming. "Come here, you little punk!"

"You cannot deny your heart, Aqua. I hear it beating!" Yugi laughed as Aqua chased him around the counter top, with both Terra and Ven watching in amusement. It was a very heartwarming moment for the closest group of friends in the world.

Just as Aqua caught the older man and was about to beat him senseless, there was a call on Ven's desk.

"Oh boy, a call! Maybe it's Riku with a new scoop!" Ven jumped with glee. He cheerfully picked up the phone and said, in his best professional voice, "Hello, Keyblade Chronicles, the best paper in Twilight Town. How can I help you today...Riku? Hey, what's up dude! Any good stories today? Yeah! Yeah!...Yeah, he's right here, but-…What?..Oh my god! You're kidding! What do you mean she-DEAD?"

Ven stood there in shock, listening to what Riku was saying.

"No…that's…impossible. Are you sure?..." Ven put a hand to his face, tears falling down. "Oh my god…"

"All right…I'll let him know. We'll see what we can do. Bye."

Ven's entire expression changed. In one minute, he changed from happy-go lucky and carefree to sad and confused. He turned to the others with a flustered look on his face.

"Ven?" Yugi was worried about his friend. "What is it? What did he say?"

"No time to explain! Turn on the TV, quick!"

"Terra! The remote!" Terra quickly fumbled around in his drawer until he found the remote. Then he tossed it to Yugi. Quickly, he turned the TV on.

Aqua, Terra, Yugi and Ven all watched in horror as the headlines unfolded before them:

_"**Tragedy in Twilight Town: Girl Frozen To Death and Dropped From Clock Tower!"**_

**To be continued**


	4. Chapter Three

A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Kingdom Hearts. We here at do not condone the deaths of little girls. We do, however, find it awesome._

Chapter 3:

_"__**Tragedy in Twilight Town: Girl Frozen To Death and Dropped From Clock Tower!"**_

"W…what the hell?" Yugi was at a loss for words.

"This can't be real." Aqua shook her head in denial.

Terra said nothing; he just looked away from the screen.

But no one took it harder than Ven. He started sinking to his knees, a blank expression on his face.

Worried, Yugi knelt down to where Ventus was. "Ven? Are you alright? What is it?"

He tried shaking Ventus, but the boy still wouldn't respond; he just stared blankly into space, with his mouth open and his eyes lifeless and dull.

Yugi was puzzled. "Ven?" He knew this was a horrible tragedy, but why was Ven taking it so hard?

Aqua put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Maybe he knows the person who got killed."

Yugi looked up at the female. "What gave you that idea?"

"Look at the screen." Aqua motioned to the TV screen that hung above all of their heads.

Yugi proceeded to do so, and almost wished he hadn't.

"In an event that has shaken this once peaceful town," the TV reporter said, "a student of Twilight High had been found broken in pieces underneath the local clock tower. Her name, as reported by school officials, was Olette Duffman, aged 15."

Yugi's eyes widened. "What? Olette?" He knew who Olette was. She was a friend of Ventus who hung out with his little group after school. They would spend a lot of spare time on the clock tower, eating sea-salt ice cream and talking about life. Yugi knew this because he sometimes accompanied them, whenever they asked him to. He remembered how Olette was always smiling so sweetly, so kind to everyone she met. She was also pretty smart; Olette was a very hard-working girl who strived for perfection In school and tennis, which she learned from her dad at a young age.

And now…

Yugi could not believe that such a tragedy had happened to someone so close to them. But he needed to focus; he was a reporter, first and foremost. And he needed to get to the bottom of this incident.

"Pack up the cameras. We're heading out."

Terra looked at Yugi in shock. "Are you kidding? You're thinking about a scoop now? This is wrong, you son of a bitch! WE can't do this to her family, her friends!"

"Terra, relax!" Aqua yelled at her friend. "Yugi, stop this!" She turned to her boss. "Don't sacrifice your morality just to get a headline. We can't-"

"This isn't about the paper, Aqua!" Yugi bellowed.

Aqua was taken aback, but she said nothing in response.

"We need to find out what happened to Olette, before someone makes up lies about her. And by 'someone', I mean 'SETZER'! Now, call Riku and get ready to move out! NOW! That's an order!"

Finally understanding, Aqua smiled. "Sure thing boss. Terra?"

"On it." Terra grabbed the bags with cameras and recorders, and flung it at Aqua, who caught it with ease. Then he turned to Yugi. "Ready?"

Yugi nodded. Getting up, he declared, "Keyblade Chronicles! Move out!"

With that, Aqua and Terra ran out of the building. Aqua gently placed the bag on the ground, and both she and Terra touched the piece of armor on their shoulders. Within seconds, after being surrounded by light, both of the Keyblade wielders were clad in armor: Terra's was brown and golden, while Aqua's was primarily blue. Then they summoned their Keyblades Earthshaker and Rainfell respectfully and flung them into the air. Instantly, they turned into their Keyblade Rides, Terra's resembling a bike, and Aqua's resembling a bow and platform device. Taking the bag and putting it around her shoulders, the female Keyblade Master got on her Ride and took off for the clock tower. Terra got on his Ride and was about to follow suit. Then he noticed that Yugi hadn't taken off yet.

"What's wrong, dude?" Terra said through his helmet.

"You go on. I'll catch up." Yugi was dragging the shock-driven body of Ventus over his shoulders, while carrying his helmet in his left hand.

"Alright." Terra nodded. "See you there." Without looking back, the young man took off on his Keyblade Ride in pursuit of his friend Aqua.

Struggling, Yugi kept dragging Ventus to where his bike was resting. When he finally reached the bike stand, he put Ven's helmet on, which prevented everyone from noticing the shock and horror etched upon it. Then, he slowly got on the bike, and made sure Ven was behind him. Then he summoned Fenrir and inserted it into the Keyhole. Thinking of the bottom of the clock tower, he transported himself and Ventus to the site of the accident, consuming the both of them in a flash of light…

* * *

**Later…**

Ten seconds later, Yugi was at the site of Olette's death. Getting off the bike, he left his friend's grief stricken body on top of the bike. Stepping away from the bike, he pointed Fenrir at it, uttering a spell: "PROTECT!" Immediately, Ven and the bike were covered in an invisible barrier. Now they were both safe. Relieved, Yugi kept Fenrir summoned and walked closer to the site.

It was pretty gross. Olette's body was entirely covered in ice, as though it had been frozen solid. But that wasn't all. Because she had fallen down from the clock tower, her body was crushed into millions of pieces. Her arms, legs, torso, and head could not be made out in the wreckage; all that could be seen were pieces of ice that were soaked in blood.

Her blood.

The cops were all over the place, making sure that nobody could catch sight of what happened. Reporters from different newspapers and TV channels were surrounding the police-covered area, like chickens in a crowed coop. An ambulance, Yugi overheard, was coming soon to take the pieces away. It would come in about an hour or so; that gave the KC a small window of opportunity to get some more information. All Yugi had to do was wait for Aqua and Terra to show up. Then they needed to find Riku somewhere in this crowd of reporters so they could find out if he knew anything. Afterwards, they would figure out what to do afterwards.

Just then, a hand grabbed at his shoulder. "Hey, boss!"

Yugi turned around to see Riku staring at him glumly. "Riku; I'm glad I found you. Any news on this?"

Riku shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not much. It's weird, how fast they got here. She died about ten minutes ago. Around the same time I called you guys."

"What?" Now Yugi was really confused. "How did they get here so fast?"

"That was my first question too." Riku looked at the site, where he saw police officers shaking their heads and writing things down. "Then I remembered that Olette's dad used to be in the police force. Maybe that has something to do with it."

Yugi nodded in agreement. "Maybe."

"Anyway," Riku continued, "they're saying this is a suicide. Bullshit, if you ask me. They think she died of a brain freeze from too much ice cream. Then she fell off the clock tower, reeling from the brain freeze."

"Bullshit," Yugi murmured in agreement. "Probably some lame cover story to prevent everyone from finding out what's really going on."

Both he and Riku were thinking the same thing, and without realizing, they said it in perfect unision:

"Murder."

Just then, they heard a whooshing noise. They looked up to see Aqua and Terra on their Keyblade Rides, hovering over them. Both of them then starting glowing bright white, and were instantly returned to their regular forms. Then they landed on the ground, in front of Riku and Yugi.

"Hey Riku." Aqua said. "Here's the stuff." She threw the bag at Riku, which he caught.

"All right then. Let's get to work." He took out three cameras and handed one to everyone except Yugi, who settled for his notebook that was in his pocket. Then he gave everyone a recorder so that they could document what was happening in the scene around them. Then Riku stopped.

"Where's Ventus? I thought he'd be here with you guys?"

"He should be with Yugi." Terra pointed at Yugi. "Right?"

Yugi looked down. "I left him back at the bike; he was pretty traumatized by Olette's death to even move."

A tear fell down Aqua' face. "Ven…"

Yugi looked up immediately. "But don't worry; I put a Protect spell on him and the bike. He should be safe…for a while, at least." Yugi wasn't all that good at magic, so he couldn't say for certain when Ven would be in danger.

Aqua shook her head. "I don't care! Bring Ven here right now! Anything could happen to him, protection or no protection!"

"So why don't you do us a favor, and let him stay there?"

One by one, each of the Keybladers turned around to see Seifer, Fuu, Vivi, and the 'Y'Know' guy staring at them with cold stares and big smirks.

Terra grimaced. "What are you guys doing here?"

"What does it look like, loser? We're here on business for Setzer." Fuu shook her head. "And here I thought you had class, Terra."

"Forget it, Fuu. Like this dweeb even knows what 'class' means." Seifer pointed at Yugi's group. He started pacing around them, like a lion ready to do battle. "Forget working for this loser, Terra, and try working with us for a change. You won't get anything working with the likes of him."

Terra started clenching his fists in anger. "Thanks but no thanks, punk. I'll take my chances."

"Forget it, Terra." Aqua shook her head. "Don't lock horns with these guys; they're just looking for trouble."

"Yeah, don't listen to her, y'know!" The Y'Know guy said. "She's just a stupid twit anyways!"

"Don't be rude, Y'Know guy." Seifer replied cooly. "We're way cooler then these guys anyway."

"I have a name, Seifer!"

"No one cares!" Vivi piped in.

Yugi looked at him strangely. "That thing can talk?"

"No." The Y'Know guy flatly stated.

Seifer stared at his stupid friend. "Ugh. Yes he can, moron. You've been my slave-er, I mean, friend- for how long now?"

The Y'Know guy started counting on his fingers. "Er, let's see. One, two, three-"

"Never mind! Anyway, get out of our way. Or do I have to teach you a lesson in manners, Yugi?" Seifer pulled out his Struggle bat and aimed it at the duelist-Keyblader.

Yugi just scoffed in disbelief. "Right. You're going to show ME manners?" He pointed Fenrir at Seifer's heart. "I'd like to see you try."

Fuu laughed evilly. "Just cause you got one of those stupid weapons doesn't mean you'll win! Seifer here is the KING OF STRUGGLE CHAMPIONS!"

Riku spat on the side, then smirked in disbelief. "YOU'RE a king?" He asked Seifer.

"No." The Y'Know guy said flatly.

Seifer glared at the Y'Know Guy for ten seconds, before saying, "Fuck you, Y'Know Guy!"

"That is not my-"

"Like I said, no one cares!" Vivi said.

Seifer got his bat ready. "You ready for this, coward?"

Yugi was taken aback by this comment. "Wh..what are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know!" Seifer, happy that he had finally gotten to Yugi, reveled in his glory. "Remember what happened 15 years ago, at the Struggle World Championship in Twilight Town? Remember what you did there? Remember how much hurt and pain you caused?"

"Shut up!" Aqua snapped. "You don't know Yugi at-"

But she never finished that sentence. For at that moment, they were surrounded by Heartless that had come out of nowhere. In ten seconds, the Heartless were attacking the reporters who fled for their lives, while the cops did their best to subdue them, at no avail.

"Heartless!" Riku cried. "We need to act now!"

"I agree!" Terra replied. Riku, Terra, and Aqua all summoned their Keyblades, Way to the Dawn, Gaia Bane, and Ultima Weapon respectfully. Then they proceeded to attack the Heartless.

"Rah!" Terra smashed two Shadows that came from behind him with a ground breaking move, which in turn caused a earthquake-like reaction that stunned an army of Soldiers that were moving in on him. Terra then yelled "FIRE!", destroying all of the Heartless and burning them to the ground.

"Yahh!" Aqua cartwheeled, dodging hits from a Large Body. She then proceeded to jump high, above the Heartless that were attacking her, only to be hit by a Wyvern. "Ahh!" It proceeded to slice at her multiple times, leaving cuts on her stomach, face and back. Wincing in pain, Aqua watched as they all proceeded to attack her defenseless body. Thinking of the one spell that could save her, she said, "DEFEND!" At once, an invisible barrier appeared around her, pushing the Heartless back and reflecting their own attacks back at them, killing them all instantly.

"Nyahh!" Riku unleashed the darkness in his heart, and singlehandedly killed 100 Yellow Nocturnes by blasting them with Dark Firagas left and right, since he could teleport quickly with his new power.

Yugi looked around to see that Seifer's gang was gone. "Cowards." Focusing, he remembered that Ventus was still alone with the bike. Looking in the distance, he saw several Neoshadows attacking the barrier.

"NO! VENTUS!" Yugi ran as fast as he could, but suddenly, a huge Defender blocked his way.

Angered, Yugi yelled at the top of his lungs. "GET AWAY FROM MY FRIEND, YOU FREAKS OF NATURE! YAHHHH!" And he charged at the Heartless, Keyblade in hand…

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter Four

A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Kingdom Hearts. Once again._

Chapter 4:

Angered, Yugi yelled at the top of his lungs. "GET AWAY FROM MY FRIEND, YOU FREAKS OF NATURE! YAHHHH!" And he charged at the Heartless, Keyblade in hand…

..only to be forced back to the ground immediately.

"Ugh!" Yugi brushed the dust off his pants and started panting. Without thinking, he charged at the Defender again. And he was pushed back, again. This time, however, he was pushed back over 3 feet, into a nearby concrete wall. The defenseless hero crashed into the wall like glass, and he could hear several of his bones shatter in the process.

"No…I won't…give up." Yugi's breathing was much shallower. The attack had injured his back, which had most likely scratched his lung in the process. It wasn't serious, but it was enough to put the Keyblade wielder at a horrible disadvantage.

The Defender then blasted a Firaga straight in his direction. Yugi's eyes widened. Reacting quickly, he took Fenrir in his right hand and started spinning it quickly. This in turn caused it to emit glows of flashing light. When the Firaga landed in contact with Fenrir, Yugi used all his energy to lift Fenrir high above his head, throwing the fireball high into the sky, where it disintegrated immediately.

Panting in victory, Yugi refocused his attention on Ventus, who was still in danger. The Neoshadows were scratching the force-field like madmen, and he could sense that the energy in the shield was starting to disappear.

"Damn it!" Yugi cursed. "I have to stop this Heartless before it's too late!" But then he paused, right before he tried to take his battle stance. Then he thought about the situation carefully. _Every time I tried to attack it directly, he deflected it like it was nothing. _Yugi then remembered something. _But all of those were physical attacks. Maybe if I used magic, then things would be different._

Pointing the Keyblade at the Defender, he yelled, "FREEZE!" At once, Fenrir shot an ice spell at the Heartless. It had no way of dodging the powerful spell. Just as Yugi was about to yell in victory…

…the Heartless emerged unscathed. It appeared completely unharmed.

"Great!" Yugi yelled in frustration. He didn't have much time. The force-shield was starting to break. Yugi could see behind the Defender. He noticed shards of energy were falling to the ground, and the Neoshadows were growing more powerful with each attack.

Reacting quickly, he uttered the only spell he could think of: "THUNDER!"

The Defender had no time to raise his shield to defend himself, for he had no idea where the lightning would come from. For a single moment, the sky became dark, and a lightning bolt came down and struck the Heartless in the head, causing it to disappear into darkness.

"Yes!" Now with renewed hope, Yugi charged towards Ventus and the bike with Fenrir held high above his head.

But his victory was short lived. For before Yugi could say the words "John Smith", two Neoshadows grabbed each of his arms, constricting each half of his body. They squeezed at him so hard that Yugi felt the life inside him starting to slip away, and his Keyblade dropped uselessly to the ground, disappearing in a flash of light.

"Yugi!" Aqua cried out in despair. She tried to run over to him, but a Large Body punched her in the abdomen. "Nrrgh!" She started coughing blood and winced in pain. Recovering quickly, she got up only to be ambushed by a group of Wvverns, who proceeded to scratch at her body as though it was a scratching post. They cut through her armor like it was plastic, and blood started dropping out of every visible part of her body…

"No, Aqua!" Terra had been busy with several Nobodies, including Dusks and Assassins. "YAH!" He unleashed a powerful Ground Impact that killed all of them at once. "I'm coming!" He used his Glide ability to fly to where the Heartless were attacking his best friend. He almost made it, but before he could, he was struck in the head by a random Soldier that had come out of nowhere. Terra sank to the ground unconscious. Slowly, the Solder began to cut Terra's chest open with his sword, through his armor and through his skin…

"Hang on Terra!" Riku threw the Way to the Dawn at the Soldier, killing it. But as he used his psychic powers to levitate the blade back to him, a strong wind blew him off his feet and onto the cold, hard ground. The force of the impact cost Riku the loss of his left kneecap. "Argh!" Riku grabbed his leg in frustration. Looking up, he saw a Wizard staring blank at him, pointing its wand at Riku's heart…

"Ugh…Aqua…Terra…Riku…Yugi…" Ven was slowly regaining consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he realized that he was in his armor suit. Looking around, he realized that he was surrounded by several Neoshadows, and that he was resting on Yugi's bike. Before he could sit up to see what had happened to his friend, one of the Neoshadows grabbed him by the neck and started raising him up in the air. As the Heartless began to choke the defenseless teenager, Ventus started coughing and gasping. He tried to summon Fresh Breeze, but another Neoshadow grabbed his arm and started crushing it with all his strength. Ven could feel the armor enclosing his arm, stopping the blood flow and piercing his skin.

"GYAHHHHH!" Ventus yelled in pain. "Help me! For the love of all that is good, help me!" No words could express the physical torture Ven was enduring. Deciding it wanted to finish the job, the Neoshadow that was choking Ven raised its other fist and prepared to jab it into his heart…

"NOOOOOOO!" Using all the strength he could muster, Yugi broke free of the hold the Heartless had on him, even killing the left one in the process. Terra, Riku and Aqua were astounded at the incredible power Yugi had just displayed. A change had come over him; his face was angry and more clenched up, his eyes were bloodshot and yellow, and his muscles swelled up to incredible heights. Breathing heavily, Yugi summoned Fenrir again and held it in front of him like a dagger.

"Now die." Yugi pointed the Keyblade in the sky and yelled "THUNDER TIMES 3000!"

The other Keyblade wielders could not take their eyes off this incredible sight. At once, a huge flurry of thunderbolts fell from the sky and struck every single Heartless with a burst of energy. The hundreds of Heartless that had been surrounding the heroes vanished within a matter of seconds. When the chaos subdued, all that remained were Yugi, Ven, Terra, Aqua, burnt remains of Heartless that filled the air with a foul stench, and dark stains on the ground.

_The ordeal is over. Twilight Town is safe…for now. And so is Ventus. _And with those final thoughts, Yugi collapsed to the ground in relief; the magic had drained out all energy from his body.

* * *

**6:00 PM**

When Yugi opened his eyes, he was staring into the blue eyes of Ventus.

"Yugi! You're alright!" Ven breathed a sigh of relief and laid back in his seat.

Still groggy, Yugi rubbed his eyes. "What…happened?"

Ven looked down. Yugi, confused, asked again. "What happened?"

Not answering him, Ventus got up and walked to the window. "Well, we were all being creamed by the Heartless, and you sort of…did something to them."

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "I…did something." Just then, he felt a sharp pain in his brain. "Ergh!" He grabbed his forehead and a few strands of his hair. Clenching his hair as hard as he could, Yugi tried his best to remember. But after a few moments, the pain increased so much that he wasn't able to think anymore. Exhausted, he laid back into bed, disappointed at his failed attempt.

Reducing his voice to a murmur, he continued. "Where's…Aqua?"

Ven shook his head. "They're back at work. They…couldn't come."

A sharp pain once again attacked Yugi, but this time, it came through his heart. Then he remembered. "Oh, right!" He nodded. "She must be writing about what happened today; that's why she couldn't come." That explained a lot, he thought. Why else would she leave him alone with nobody else except Ventus? She was just busy was all. With two of the members of KC out of commission, it seemed necessary.

Ven nodded quickly. "Yeah, that's it! She's busy! That's what it is! A lot of work to do, articles to publish, that kind of stuff!" His voice was hasty and rushed, and Yugi could sense much uneasiness in Ven's throat.

"Ven?" Yugi asked. "Are you sure she's okay? And what about…" His heart sank. "Terra! And Riku! What happened to them? Are they going-"

"They're fine, Yug. Aqua healed all of us with Curaga, and she's let them leave work to go the hospital. It wasn't too serious; they should be fine by tomorrow." Ven took the medicine from the bedside table.

"Hold this for one second." Yugi held the medicine and looked at the label. "Advil," Yugi read with disdain. "VENTUS! You know I only take Tylenol whenever I fall unconscious fighting Heartless! Advil is for when YOU try to kill me!"

"Will you shut the hell up?" Ven uncharacteristically snapped back. "Unlike you, I need to focus when I use magic." Concentrating for about two minutes, he summoned Fresh Breeze and held it forward.

"Summon…water." He muttered. At once, a glass of water appeared in his hand. "Here you go," Ven said as he handed the glass to his friend.

Yugi smirked. "A wine glass? What, did you and Aqua finally tie the knot?" He exclaimed sarcastically.

"YUGI!" Ven's face grew red, and bore a scowl on it. "At least my magic doesn't knock me out cold!"

Yugi shrugged. "True." With that, he popped the pills in his mouth and washed them down by pouring the entire glass down his throat. "Seriously, though," he thought aloud, "how did I knock myself out?"

Ven sat back down in his seat. "Well, we were all-"

But before he could continue, the doorbell rang it. Ven sprung up out of his seat. "Who could that be?"

Putting on his vest, he walked downstairs and opened the door. He was then greeted by Sora and Kairi. The former was carrying a giant Wal-Mart bag.

"Hey Ven!" Kairi waved at the blonde-haired boy. Ven waved back. "How's it going?"

"We just wanted to give Yugi some food to reward him for, you know…" He lowered his voice to a whisper, because he knew Yugi was listening from upstairs. "What he did today."

Ven nodded. "Will do that." After taking the bag, he put it on the side and invited the couple in.

Sora and Kairi walked over to the couch. Ven tossed them the remote, and Sora turned the TV on.

There was an episode of Full House going on. While Sora got absorbed in the show, Kairi turned her head to Ventus, who was making sandwiches for all the three of them. "So, how's he doing?"

"All right, I guess." Ventus shrugged. "I mean, considering he killed three-hundred Heartless with a single spell, he's actually doing pretty well. There's something wrong with his memory though." Ven's tone changed from light-hearted to dark in that instant. "Every time he tries to remember what happened…it causes him a lot of pain."

Taking Sora and Kairi's plates, he walked over to the couch and handed them their sandwiches. "The others didn't take it too well. Terra thought Yugi was crazy to even THINK of pulling off something crazy like that. He was all, 'If he's trying to be some hotshot and all, he could at least try and make himself look good when doing it'. Riku did his best to hide his feeling about it, but we all know he cares about Yugi as much as we do."

"I see." Kairi nodded. Then she turned to Sora. "Maybe you should think about it, Sora. I think it's necessary."

Sora grimaced upon hearing his girlfriend's voice. Muting the TV, he turned to face her. "You know the answer already. It's no. So stop asking me about it." Grabbing the sandwich from Ventus, he got up from the couch and started walking to the kitchen.

"Sora, stop!" Kairi got up also. "What is it with you? Why won't you do it?"

Sora shook his head. "I don't know. I just-"

"Yugi needs you. They all need you. You are one of them, you know!" Kairi reminded him. She pointed to Sora's hand. "The weapon chose you. Yugi chose you. They both need you."

But Sora would not give in. The brown-haired boy clenched his free hand. Taking a bite from his sandwich, he turned back to face Kairi. After finishing the sandwich in his mouth, he continued. "For the last time, I do not want to work for Keyblade Chronicles. I don't like working for newspapers."

Kairi shook her head in frustration. "Sora, it's not about the newspapers! Think about what happened today! A girl is DEAD! Heartless are attacking the city! The worlds are in a frenzy!" Tears started flowing from her angelic face. "If we don't act soon, everything will be lost to the darkness."

"Listen to her, Sora." Ven commented. "You're one of us, whether you like to admit it or not. Granted, however, if it were up to me, I'd snatch that Keyblade from you in an instant!"

Kairi gasped and looked and Ventus, a shocked expression on her face. "Ven, what are you saying?"

"I meant what I said, Kai!" Ven glared at the redhead for a moment, then returned his gaze to the Keyblade wielder turning his back to him. "You think you're helping the worlds by keep your gifts to yourself? Wake up, Sora! People are dying! We need to be united if we want to stop them from taking over the world!"

"Well, why should I care?" Sora yelled loudly. "It's not like I asked for this incredible power! I don't even want it! Who fucking cares?"

"I do, you asshole!" Losing all inhibitions, Ven summoned Fresh Breeze and charged at his friend. The latter retaliated by summoning Oathkeeper. Both of them were pressed in close combat, with Ven's Keyblade blocked by Sora's. Ven kept pushing at Sora, but the brown-haired teenager would not let up.

"Leave…me…alone!" Sora said through clenched teeth. "I am not one of you people!"

"Yes...you...are." Ven retaliated. "You've always been, Sora. Join us, and I promise not to bang you up too much."

"AS IF!" Sora pushed back with all his strength, knocking Fresh Breeze from Ven's hands, until it collided with the coffee table, smashing it beyond repair.

Ventus himself fell to the ground, but he was far from finished. Growling, he called for Fresh Breeze, which transported from the coffee table to his hand.

Kairi watched in horror as Ventus walked slowly towards her boyfriend, Keyblade in hand. Afraid to wake up Yugi and stir up more trouble, she covered her mouth. Blushing bright red, she closed her eyes, anticipating something bad to happen.

"…Ventus?" The drugged, groggy voice of Yugi called out from above. "What's going on down there?"

"Nothing!" Ven replied. "Sora and I were just playing a little game. Is that okay?"

"…that's alright, I guess. Just keep it down; I'm really tired." This comment was followed by a yawn, and then there was complete silence from upstairs.

Ven nodded. Glaring at Sora, keeping his voice down, he simply stated, "I'll be taking your leave now."

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Thank you for inviting me into your house. It was nice," he said in the fakest cheery disposition he could muster at the moment. "Thanks for the fucking sandwich, Ven." Sora recalled the Keyblade and walked out the door, but not before he uttered his last words before leaving: "I hate peanut butter and jelly." And with that, he slammed the door behind him and walked away.

Kairi walked up to where Ventus was lying down and apologized. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don't know what the fuck is wrong with him today? I hope you can understand that he's going through a hard time right now! He doesn't have a single bad bone in his body. He would never-"

"Kai, stop!" Ven held up his hand to silence the rambling redhead. "I get it; it's all right. Just take care of him is all." He smiled as best he could, though Kairi could tell there was a bit of sadness in this one. Nevertheless, she returned the gesture.

Without saying anything, Kairi helped Ventus up and proceeded to let herself out. Once she was gone, Ven walked to the door and looked through the peephole to see Kairi running after Sora with a frying pan that he didn't know HOW she obtained between the time she came in his house and the moment she left. Then he turned around to see the broken coffee table; the glass was spread across the living room floor.

Sighing, he decided that he needed to sweep it up. "Better go get the broom." But before he could go upstairs to get the broom, he was greeted by a frowning Yugi standing on the steps. He wasn't dressed in his traditional leather pants, black shirt and blue jacket; instead, he was wearing black silk pants, and he was bare-chested, wearing a white robe to cover himself and keep him warm. There was nothing on his feet, and his choker was nowhere to be found. Also, there were several noticeable scars on his chest, particularly near his heart. The place where his heart was had a black stain on it that would not come off. Ven would know; he had wasted half an hour trying to wash it off, but to no avail. Yugi had bags under his eyes, and his knees looked like they might collapse any moment.

"Yugi!" Ven gasped. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Relax, I'm fine." Yugi brushed aside Ven's worries. "I know you and Sora were fighting, and I also know what it was about."

Ven looked away. "He's just a total dope is all. Still didn't want to join us."

Yugi nodded. "I figured as much." Looking at Ven's chest, he went straight to the point. "We'll clean up the table later. Let's talk about what happened today. We need a plan to tackle this new threat."

* * *

It was almost 7:00. Yugi and Ven were sitting upstairs in Ven's room. Ven was lying down on his bed, while Yugi sat on Ven's chair. They were both drinking coffee, and discussing what all had happened earlier that day.

"So, about the murder that happened today-that is, if indeed we can call this a murder," Yugi started. "We know for a fact that the murderer is most likely a powerful magic user. Only some pretty powerful could have used a freezing spell that well. Anyone else would most likely die under the pressure."

"True," Ven nodded. "It also seemed pretty strange that the cops wrote off Olette's death as a suicide. There's no concrete evidence that she DID commit suicide." Upon hearing his own words, Ventus started to cry bitterly. "Olette's a good person. She would never do something like that…"

"I know." Yugi nodded in agreement. "I believe you Ven. But the cops won't see it that way. You need to understand that in order to get to the bottom of this, we need to think of this like Keybladers and not lose our heads. That's not something we can afford to lose, God forbid." Yugi joked.

Ven muttered a half-hearted "Yeah."

"Now," Yugi continued. "that's about all the information we have. We weren't able to get anything else after that. Our other problem saw to that."

Yugi got up from his seat. Ven almost got up too, but Yugi motioned for Ven to stay put. Pacing around the room, he tried to piece together the incidents as best he could. "Don't you think it's a little odd that the minute after we hear about a murder in Twilight Town, that Heartless just start to appear out of nowhere? I mean, does that make any sense?"

Ven shrugged. "Maybe it's just coincidence. Heartless have come up in the city before, and we've always been around when they do." Scratching his head, he pointed out something else. "Maybe it's because we've got the Keyblades that they came; they must have sensed our presence when we got to the tower."

"Correct!" Yugi snapped his fingers. "Why else would they show up? The murderer didn't have enough time to tamper with the crime scene before he left. Maybe he summoned the Heartless before he left in order to fend us off."

"But wait!" Ven pointed out. "How would he know we were coming? If he has powerful magic, why did he even have to leave the scene at all. Even if the cops did catch him, the guy would be too powerful for them anyway. If I had to guess-and this is just a guess-then this guy probably just wanted attention is all."

"You're wrong."

Ven looked up in surprise. "What?"

"You're right that he's a powerful being, and maybe you're right that he likes attention. But that's not what his goals were for killing Olette."

"W…what do you mean?" Ven sat up and looked at Yugi. "I don't get what you're saying."

Yugi shook his head. "I have some other logical theories. One, Olette's dad is a former police officer. I know because I did an interview with him about a year ago. He's killed or captured about 200 criminals during his career. My hunch is that one of the criminals he captured was secretly a powerful magic wielder who wants revenge for what happened to him. So he killed Olette to hurt him emotionally, and released the Heartless to avenge all the people who were captured by Olette's dad."

"And what's number two?"

"For this, I need to ask you something. Did Olette have any enemies who knew magic?"

Ven shrugged. "I don't know. Olette was pretty lonely in school. Save for me and the guys, she didn't have many friends. Everyone thought she was weird and nerdy. One girl even thought she was the Devil. I don't see how." Ven shrugged. It off. "I'm sure it was just a harmless threat."

Yugi grabbed the blonde's shoulders and started shaking him. "Have I taught you nothing? One thing a reporter knows more than anything is that you NEVER shoot down any theories until you are SURE they are false! Got that?"

Ven slowly nodded. "Got it."

"Good!" Letting Ven go, he continued to pace the room. "Brace yourself for this third theory. I don't like to think about it, but considering how little we know as of yet, it may be the closest we have to a scoop. Don't be offended when I say this," he warned, "but this is only a theory, and has not been proven yet."

"Out with it already!" Ven was growing impatient.

"I think the murderer was…a Keyblade wielder.."

Ven's eyes widened and his mouth opened as wide as it humanly could…


	6. Chapter Five

**8:30**

"Behold. These lifeless keys used to be full of power, united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat as a great Keyblade War raged."

Ven stared at the picture in the book. It depicted a crossroads made of hundreds – maybe thousands – of Keyblades. However, in this picture, the ground was stained with blood, presumably from the former wielders of said Keyblades.

"From what legend says, it was this war that caused our universe to be remade into what it is today. It's also the reason why no Keyblader is ever allowed to interfere in the affairs of others, for fear of what destruction they could potentially bring to every single one of them."

They were no longer in the bedroom. Yugi and Ventus were now sitting in the library. The former was dressed in his usual attire of blue clothes and black choker. He was also carrying a Battle City Duel Disk on his left arm. The latter was in his blue, striped pajamas.

"But I thought the Keyblade wielders were pushed to extinction. We should be the only ones left!" Ven interrupted. "And none of _us_ could have-"

"We don't know that." Yugi retorted. "At least, not the part about us being extinct. From what history has shown, new Keybladers have been popping up everywhere."

Pulling out a black binder overflowing with paper, Yugi slammed it on the table. He opened the binder and pulled out an article. "About five years ago, before I even met you, there were reports in Agrabah about a mysterious fire that destroyed half the village. The fire was so powerful that it could have killed all the villagers in less than five minutes. But then this happened." Yugi pointed at the picture. It depicted a shadowy figure dousing the fire with water. Upon further inspection, it was revealed that the source of the water was what appeared to be a Keyblade; the picture was too blurry for Ven to determine if that was fact or not.

"So? That doesn't prove anything! Anyone could have stopped that fire!"

"But a fire of that magnitude would have required the efforts of three or five men. One man alone couldn't have stopped it. Not without some degree of magic, that is!"

Ven shrugged. "There are plenty of magicians in the universe. Like Yen Sid, or Merlin."

Yugi ignored Ven's skepticism (and his ignorance of the fact that Yen Sid was once a Keyblade Master himself) and continued. "This happened about three years ago." He pulled out another article; this one had a picture of a giant Heartless attacking innocent people. "Remember the Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion?"

Ven nodded. "Oh yeah! I remember! We almost got killed by the big one; he managed to stab you in the stomach three times, but I protected you from the fourth. I tell you, I really thought that would be our final scoop: Reporters/Keybladers killed by Giant Heartless Sword!"

Yugi smiled. "That's right. But is wasn't. Know why?" He pointed to the next picture. It showed a female blue-haired teenager standing over the corpse of the Heartless, while a brown-haired male teenager was standing next to her, showing off in front of some gushing fangirls.

"Terra and Aqua." They both said in unison.

Yugi laid back in his chair. "Back then, we thought we were the only ones. It was just you and me in a world that had forgotten about the Keyblade. All alone, with no one to understand our pain and the burdens we carried. But then these two came, like angels from the sky."

He looked out the window, thoughtfully. "It gave me hope, Ven. That there were people like us spread across the stars, that we had others to lean on and share our joys and sorrows with."

Wiping a tear from his eye, Yugi smiled. "But enough nostalga for one day. Let's get back to work."

And with that, the two friends resumed reading, trying to uncover the mystery of the girl who fell to her death from the giant clock tower mere hours ago.

**A Month in the Life of Ventus and Yugi**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Kingdom Hearts. And sorry for taking too much time for the update, making everyone feel like I abandoned the story. A lot of things came up._

Chapter 5:

**10:00**

It was late now (even though the sky stayed EXACTLY THE SAME), and Aqua was just getting ready to close up shop. It had been a long day, given recent events hampering the schedule. But everyone was alive, and that's what mattered.

Terra and Riku were forced to go home early to get check-ups from the doctor. They kept insisting that they were fine, but Aqua would hear none of it. Especially when Terra called her a twot in front of her face.

That didn't help.

So with all four of her coworkers at home resting, it rested on Aqua's shoulders to take care of things. She sighed deeply and brushed the dust off her shorts. This job could get really stressful, she thought. Making a mental note to get some more food for Jimmy, Aqua packed her things and left the press, making sure to lock the door tight before she left. As an added protection, she cast a Protect charm on the door, to ward off even the most powerful thieves.

As she kept walking along the streets, she noticed something rather peculiar. A brown-haired boy was sitting on the stairs of one of the houses, staring at Aqua as she walked. His eyes were a cerulean blue, and a listless expression was etched across his face. It didn't take her much time to recognize who the boy was.

"Sora? Is that you?"

He nodded.

Aqua put her bag over her shoulder and walked over to where Sora was sitting. "What you doing out here? It's really dark out..."

* * *

About ten minutes later, Aqua arrived at Yugi's house in a frantic daze. Worried sick, she banged her fist on the door.

"Yugi! Ven! Open up; it's me, Aqua!"

No response came, so Aqua resorted to drastic measures. She summoned her Keyblade, Rainfell, and broke the door down herself.

The door now reduced to a pile of rubble, Aqua stormed her way into the house, looking for her two friends.

"Yugi!" She called out in vain. "Where are you?"

"AQUA, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY DOOR?"

Turning around, she heard the deep and gruff voice of her boss. Aqua breathed a sigh of relief. Quickly, she walked over to where Yugi was standing, only to receive a fist jammed into her face.

Yugi was breathing heavily, and his face was all red. "Do you know how EXPENSIVE it is to replace one of these things? I saw one the other day that costs a thousand bucks!"

"Ouch," Aqua agreed, slowly getting up. "Still, it could be worse."

"It was made of PLYWOOD!"

Aqua slapped Yugi across the face, the latter grabbing his left cheek in pain. "What was that for?"

"One, for punching me. Two, for your attitude. And three, to get your attention."

After a few minutes, Yugi calmed down. "Well, those are all good reasons. And you've got my attention. So what is it?"

* * *

**10:25**

The two were now sitting in the kitchen. Yugi was now drinking a cup of tea, while Aqua settled for a warm glass of milk.

"Sora said that? Must have been pulling your leg." Yugi shook his head. "The worst thing that's ever happened here was a fire. And we haven't had anything like that happen in years. Not since I took away his X - Box."

Aqua nodded. "Well, that's good to hear. So how are you feeling now?"

Yugi looked down at his tea and stared at his reflection. "Okay, I guess." He looked deep into Aqua's cerulean blue eyes. "Aqua..."

Aqua craned her neck and turned her head sideways. "Yes?"

"You're working too hard. You need a life. I think what you need, right now, is a boyfriend."

At the mention of that last word, Aqua spit out her milk dramatically, spraying it all over Yugi's face.

"E...Excuse me?" Aqua asked, gasping for breath. Her cheeks were now a rosy red, and she covered them in shame. "You've got a lot of nerve..."

"Not me, you bimbo!" Yugi bellowed, his voice now stern. "I was referring to Ventus. When are you going to tell him you love him?"

At the mention of Ven's name, Aqua looked up. Then she looked away, a sad look in her eyes.

"I won't..."

But she didn't finish. Aqua put a hand to her face, ashamed to look her friend in the eye.

"Aqua, talk to me." Yugi pleaded, now desperate for an answer. "Don't you want to be with him? I know he loves you just as much. He never shuts up about it."

Aqua murmured something, but her voice was so soft that Yugi could barely hear it.

"Say that again..."

"...luvhimasmuch..."

"What?"

Aqua looked up indignantly, with a pained look in her eyes. "I WON'T LOVE HIM AS MUCH!"

Yugi's eyes widened. This was an answer he hadn't expected from her.

"What are you saying?"

"I see you two. Together, all the time!" Aqua was slowly breaking down, tears starting to fall from her face. "You're always so happy together, having fun whenever you can, and it just seemed like you two were meant to be together!"

"Trust me, it's not always that fun..." Yugi rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to spoil that! What if I can't love him the way you do? Maybe I'll just hurt him again. Like the last time..." And with that, she broke down completely into a full fledged sob, her hand covering her face now soaked in tears.

If anyone else had been peeking in the window, they would have written Aqua off as a nutjob with mood swings. But Yugi had been with many women to understand that this was not the case. In addition, despite not sleeping with her, he was close enough with Aqua to know what she meant when she said 'the last time'.

About four years ago, sometime before meeting Yugi and Ven, she had a boyfriend. Yugi didn't know all the details, but Aqua had loved him unconditionally, and would have given her life for him. She almost did, in fact. Multiple times. They were so caught in love that it seemed like they would be together forever. But her Master disapproved of her relationship and threatened to kill the boy if she would not return. Aqua was so blinded by love, so ready to throw her life away to someone whom she met recently, that she rebelled against her Master and ran away with her lover, all the way across the universe.

But the Master would not have it. He sent Terra to bring her back to their world, but the latter was unsuccessful in completing this task; Aqua proved to be successful every time. Terra refused to give up, however, and kept getting stronger every time. Eventually, in the last of these fights, Terra overpowered Aqua to a point that he almost killed her. However, Aqua's lover got in the way at the last minute, losing his right arm in the process. Enraged at Terra for what he had done, and scared for her lover and protecting him, Aqua was forced to choose between the people that loved her, and the person she loved. Aqua was too weak and too rattled to fight for what she loved, and went away with Terra back to their own world.

Yugi never found out what happened to the lover. It was less so because of the fact that he couldn't find out, but more so because he loved Aqua as a friend and did not care enough to dig deep into her private life, into secrets she did not want to be uncovered.

Nevertheless, he did care enough to dig into her heart at the moment.

"You need to forget about the past. You've become a lot stronger since then. I know you can love him as much as I do. And when I look in Ven's eyes, I know that he can love you as much as he loves me."

Yugi wasn't gay, and he didn't think of Ven in that way. Although Ven would always depend on Yugi no matter what, his heart beat only for Aqua. He was madly in love, and he was only slightly afraid to show it.

_Flashback_

_They were at home having breakfast. Ven sighed. "Do you think Aqua likes roses? I think I'll get her roses for her birthday. What do you think, Yug?"_

_Yugi shook his head, as he sipped some more coffee. "I don't care, Ventus. I just do not care."_

_End Flashback_

_Flashback (2)_

_They were at the beach, watching Aqua in her skintight blue one-piece swimsuit. She was constantly hitting Terra across the face with the beachball, while Riku snapped pictures of the blue-haired maiden._

_Ven sighed, lying down on the blanket in his blue trunks. "Do you think Aqua should replace Terra as our model? Her body is just so... breathtaking!"_

_Yugi shook his head, as he sipped his coke. "I don't care, Ventus. I just do not care."_

_End Flashback (2)_

_Flashback (3)_

_They were at the office. Ven was at the desk, waiting for calls, while Yugi was writing an article on his laptop. Aqua bent down in front of the blond-haired boy, handing him a drink and flashing him a cute smile. She then walked back to her desk, Ven watching her intently as she left._

_Ven threw a cup at Yugi, getting his attention._

_"Hey Yug?"_

_"What? I'm busy."_

_"Do you think Aqua works out a lot? Her breasts and butt. They are are just... divine." Ven whispered this time, knowing Aqua was in earshot._

_Yugi shook his head, as he finished his sentence on Aladdin and other street rats being a menace to society. "I don't care, Ventus. I just do not- Wait, what did you say?"_

_Ven just smiled and gave him a wink, possibly suggesting something._

_This motion earned the boy a punch in the face. Ven fell to the ground, grabbing his face in pain._

_"Pervy little bastard..." Yugi rolled his eyes and went back to work, while a concerned Aqua walked over to check on Ventus..._

_End Flashback (3)_

Yugi cringed at that last one. He never should have bought Ven all that porn.

"Something wrong?" Aqua noticed that Yugi was blushing a deep red.

Gulping, Yugi brushed it off. "It was nothing! Just remembered something is all."

If Aqua was skeptical, she didn't show it. Instead, she got up to leave. "Well, I've got some food for Jimmy. It's on the table if you need it. I better get going."

Just as she was about to leave. Yugi stood up from where he was sitting.

"Wait."

Aqua paused and looked back.

"About today..."

Yugi could have sworn she saw a twinge of fear in her lips.

"When I saved you all, after I..." He looked down. "When I asked Ven about what happened, he told me that I did something to the Heartless. But he didn't tell me what."

Aqua gulped nervously, but she flashed a smile anyway. "Oh. I-Is that so?"

"Yes." Yugi nodded. "Maybe you could tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"What I did to them? I can't seem to remember anything."

For a moment, Aqua stood there, unsure of what to say. Yugi said nothing, waiting for Aqua to reply. When she finally did speak, she said, "Take care of Ven. I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that, the Keyblader was gone, leaving Yugi all alone.

Just then, something inexplicably happened.

"Ahhhhh!"

Yugi grabbed his head, which was now throbbing and causing him unmeasurable pain.

"No! Not again!"

Every so often, Yugi had what was called "memory lapses". Ever since he was fifteen, there would be instances where he would be dragged down deep into his past. Images that he didn't understand, people that he didn't remember. All came flooding back to him in random order-

_-a cute three year old, with striking blue hair and cute, rosy cheeks, running up to the brown haired-_

"Ugh!" The lapse was over. Yugi slowly got up. They usually didn't last for very long, and he didn't always remember them. This one in particular was so short that he completely disregarded it. When he finally composed himself.

"Nooooooo!"

That was Ventus! He was in trouble!

"I'm coming Ventus! Stay there!" Yelling loudly, the tri-color haired man rushed upstairs...

* * *

"Nooo... Olette. Let her go; don't kill her. She didn't..." Ven groaned.

"Ven!" Yugi rushed to Ven's bedside and pulled off the covers. The boy was sweating profusely, and his face was swollen red.

"Oh, god..." Yugi whispered. Thinking quickly, he summoned his Keyblade.

"Water!"

A glass of water appeared in his hand. Yugi retracted Fenrir and moved Ven's head so that he could see it. "Ven." He shook the boy. "Get up!"

Slowly, Ven opened his eyes. "Y...Yugi?"

Offering the water, Yugi nodded. "Are you okay?"

Ven was sitting up now, holding the water in his hand. Slowly, he took a sip.

Yugi summoned a chair and sat down, keeping Fenrir on the left side of the chair. "You had me worried there for a second." Then he looked down, putting a hand on Ven's shoulder. "I know it's hard for you to have lost your friend today..."

Ven choked back the tears as he kept drinking the water. Some of the tears fell into the glass.

"After everything that happened today..." Yugi couldn't bring himself to mention anything else. "I never got the chance to tell you."

Ven put the glass aside. "What?"

Before he knew it, Ven was caught in an embrace, as if from a brother to a brother. Yugi hugged Ven tightly and whispered in his ear:

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Ven started crying into Yugi's jacket. He didn't know why he was crying; it just felt like the right thing to do.

Yugi patted Ven on the back; he planned to comfort the boy until he fell asleep.

When Ven was finally well enough to go back to bed, Yugi left the room. The younger had been too distraught, so Yugi didn't bother telling him stories about his youth as a freelance reporter like he usually did. Instead, he went back to his own room and looked out the window. Tomorrow, he would go to the Land of Departure, where Terra and Aquas' Master resided. He would ask him if he knew of any freelance Keybladers he should be wary of, in order to get a lead on finding the murderer.

Once he got tired of looking at the moon, Yugi went to bed, discomforted with the knowledge that he could, potentially, be forced to kill one of his own kind...

* * *

**The Keyblade Graveyard, 1:00 AM**

Master Xehanort was sitting on the ground, in the middle of the Crossroads, eating a plate of chicken wings. Apparently, the family of the pizza man Xehanort murdered sued the company he worked for, putting all of the workers out of work. Xehanort didn't really mind; he was more of a chicken man anyway.

"Plus, they burnt the crust." Xehanort thought out loud. "Perhaps killing that man WAS fruitful, in a way."

This is the part where he usually thought back on his plan and how it would begin to take shape. But Xehanort was too hungry to think about anything else. Instead, he started to dig into the small cup of ice cream from that place that Eraqus requested. He heard that the ice cream was really good this time of year.

"Oh well," the Keyblade Master reflected on his lack of a soliloquy. "There's always next chapter..."

**_To be continued..._**


End file.
